Community Engagement during Covid — Emily Torres-Cullinane and Carolina Prieto share their thoughts.

When Covid stuck one year ago, urban planners had to find a way to communicate with the public so that their work could continue. Public engagement is a fundamental tool in every planner’s toolkit and the community conversation shapes everything a planner does. Emily Torres-Cullinane and Carolina Prieto, both of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, walk us through the challenges they faced and the ingenious solutions they came up with as they grappled with this new reality one year ago.

Emily and Carolina talk about their notion of “civic infrastructure,” the human infrastructure that allows a community to come together, work together, trust each other to problem solve in times of need. Community engagement in times of a pandemic have forced everyone online, which raises a host of questions about social justice of the online world. This often goes by the name of the “Digital Divide.” It’s something everyone agrees needs to be solved. Wealthy, educated communities have enhanced access to the online world. Poorer, less-educated communities often do not. Internet connectivity is now critical infrastructure that impacts not just community planning, but also the worlds of health-care, schooling and so many other parts of our lives.